Serve Some Time With These ‘Shawshank Redemption’ Facts

Stephen King fans know the number 237 from its appearance in The Shining, where it was the room number of a particularly dangerous corner of the Overlook Hotel. But did you know 237 also appears in the film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shawshank Redemption? Morgan Freeman’s Red resides in Cell #237 in Shawshank Prison. That’s just one of the facts featured in the newest episode of You Think You Know Movies!

Sometimes the simplest looking scenes can be the most difficult to shoot. The scene where Tim Robbins’ Andy approaches Freeman’s Red for assistance, for example, took nine hours to finish, with Freeman throwing a baseball the entire time. His arm was so sore afterwards that he had to wear a sling the next day. Also: Watch closely and you'll see a mugshot of Red as a young man in his prison file. The picture is actually of Freeman’s real-life son Alfonso, who makes another appearance onscreen as the prisoner who yells at Andy as he enters Shawshank for the first time.

You Think You Know Movies? is a ScreenCrush original series that dives deep into the cinematic worlds of your favorite movies and freeze frames a few tidbits you might not have known. We’ve already tackled Star Wars, The Avengers and Spider-Man, but this time we’re taking a long trip through a sewage tunnel to bring you these Shawshank facts. Watch more installments of ‘You Think You Know Movies?’ below and let us know in the comments what movies we should cover next.